1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cabinets having upwardly-movable or rotatable doors. More specifically the invention relates to cabinets with upwardly-movable curved doors in which the door in the open position is stored outside the cabinet, and in which the cabinet is provided with interior shelves.
2. Related Art
Conveniently located and easily accessible storage space is highly desirable and often required in the office environment. Since office space is often at a premium, designers of office furniture desire to provide large amounts of easily accessed storage space in furniture structures located adjacent to work areas or other furniture. Storage furniture which is aesthetically appealing as well as functional is also highly desired.
In modular office furniture systems, one way of providing storage space adjacent a work area is to mount a cabinet or shelf vertically above, and spaced apart from, a desk or work surface. Typically, such cabinets are secured to a vertical modular wall panel adjacent the work surface. This type of mounting arrangement enables the furniture designer to efficiently use storage space which ordinarily is unused, above the office worker's head.
However, vertical mounting of storage cabinets creates certain furniture design problems. For example, when movable doors are used to conceal the contents of overhead storage cabinets, convenient means to raise and lower the door must be provided. Since the office worker must reach up and push the door upward to open the door, the door must be either relatively light in weight or provided with a balancing system to facilitate upward movement.
The direction of motion chosen for the door is also critical. The door can be constructed to swing into the cabinet structure or outside the structure. In the prior art, "pocket" doors are well known, and combine a hinge and drawer slide to enable the door to be swung up and then pushed on the slide into the cabinet. However, such pocket doors reduce the usable interior volume of the cabinet because the door occupies interior space when retracted. Consequently, door structures in which the retracted door swings outside and above the cabinet structure are desirable.
The prior art includes certain patents generally disclosing cabinets having swing-up doors using a mechanical linkage guided on tracks. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,115,345 (Steuernagel) discloses a cabinet structure having a swing-up door provided with two pairs of projecting pins which are guided in two pairs of curved tracks. The curved tracks are routed into the upper wood frame members of the cabinet, so that the door retracts into the cabinet.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,590,028 (Miller) shows a swing-up door having two guide bolts or studs which traverse curved tracks. The tracks are cut in plates which are secured to the interior of the cabinet.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,648,516 (Manetti, et al) related to a dispenser bracket provided with three arcuate tracks which permit placing a tissue dispenser or other device in a plurality of positions.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,853,352 (Gittins) is directed to an upright cabinet with plural drawers each of which is suspended on a fixed pivot. Twin arcuate channels are provided to guide bolts or studs projecting outwardly into the channels.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,539,239 (Mallonn) discloses a cabinet having a retractable door provided with two can pins guided through spaced-apart interior flanges formed on side walls.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,115,465 (Goddin) depicts a shelf support provided with three parallel rows of slots which are aligned to receive tabs of another shelf support made according to the invention. However, the slots do not receive shelves.
Thus, the prior art is deficient in not providing a storage cabinet for modular or other furniture systems in which a rotatable retractable door is stored outside the cabinet when in the open position, and which also provides interior shelves. It is the solution of this and other problems to which the present invention is directed.